Tile setting apparatus



Nov. 28, 1950 P. SCHNEIDER TILE SETTING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 11, 1949 93 Philip Schneider A- M agent Patented Nov. 28, 1950 UNITED PATENT OFF'ICEL This invention relates to improvements -intile-'-- In particular, theinvention setting is apparatus.

is directed to aniniproved holding fixture for" ceramic or other tile whereby-a pluralityrof tile blocksmay'be temporarilysecured in position-- duringtheprocess of tiling a wall or othersur f ac The principal object" of my invention is to pro vide a-tool by which anumber-"of pieces of tilemay besecurely held in position'for application to-a prepared surface-and readily released when the tile is in place.

A -further important object of my invention isto provide a tile setting device, by:-the use -on which tile blocks maybe accurately'appliedwith' respect to a surface being tiled.

A still'further object of my invention is to pro-a. vide" a tool for tile setting by which work -:maybe accomplished with greater speed andiless'a fatigue than is possible using presently accepted methods of. tile setting;

With these and other objects in .mindlmy in.-.

vention'comprehends, in part, a"rigid,fiholding.-.v

Setl' lD. a single operation, the;backingabeing=re-;

moved after the tile is in position; Withnwa'lla tile, the sizes-of which are considerably-larger;- than-fioon tile, a flexible, removable; backing is:

not practical or desirable.

The apparatus of my inventionpermits secure-v clamping and quick release of tile= pieces andn may be readily manipulatedby a workman fit-J ting tile'a gainst a wall. To avoid bulgingyofg-ther tile -in; the apparatus, which would otherwiseoccur by reason of the relatively thin tilesection. when clamping pressure isapplied; I :employ series of thin,.floating, guided. tongueslwhichina. terfit between mating tile surfaces lwhichtare perpendicularto the direction of applied pres-. sure, and .I thus avoid any tendency for the tile. pieces to become displacedbefore the clamp is' released. When the tiles are in position against;

a wall, the clamping pressure may be readily and easily released and the tile pieces remain;

secured to the wall.

The'invention will bebetter understood by consideration of the following specification; taken in conjunction with the drawing in which:

Figurel is a face view of the apparatus of myinvention showing tile pieces assembled therein;

Figure 2 is a cross-section viewpf the tileset ting apparatus of Figure '1 taken on line-2 4 of Figure -1;

Figure 3'is an enlarged. fragmentary view of the topleft hand corner of my improvedtile setting tool showing details of thefloating tongue: which interfits-between tile,-

Figure l 'is-a' cross-section View taken on line i- 3 of Fi'gure t3;

Fieureb is a fragmentary rearface view off my' im-proved tile securing apparatus showing details of the clamping mechanism with the clamp open,

Figure; 6' is -a l side elevation-- of 1 the clamping mechanism; partly in cross-section; taken at :the'

Figurea'? is an end elevation of the-clampingmechanism of Figure 5, partly-cut away* for clarityi Iii-Figures l and 2,=a flat perforated plate 192 preferably: of aluminumor other light weight" metal alloy provides a substantially rigid surface agairistwhicl'i piecesof tile T" may be positioned; i face downward; The top "edge ofplate -16 is bordered P with a =thin; angular retainer flanged 2" which fastens to theback of the plate. Flange iz projects abo ei-theplane of the-plate surface ior'a short distanceylessthan the thickness of-" a piece-oftila'and a first horizontal' runof SiX' tile blocks T maybe located against the projec ting portion thereof.

Below the first run of tile and spaced approxi mately one tile dimension A laterally apart centrally c-f thetile are-a series of floating tongues M er thin metal the positioning of which will' accommodate-the vertical dimension B of standard tile." vary 1 from products derived from difierent'" sources'of "supply, hcwever "in' most instances of which I"am=aware;-the-tile=-sizeis a'fraction of aniineh'un-der or over e inches. It is to be un-" derstood at this'point thatthe invention is in= dependent of al limitation insofar 'as tile sizes are concerned and likewise, while reference is particularly-directed herein to ceramic tile, the

apparatus of -my invention may-be used with any-" other-relatively thin block of material 'where itis desired toclamp and de-clamp as-in-the case of tile setting:

The-construction of tongues l4 maybe more clearlyunderstood by reference to Figures-Kand 4, each tongue" being-cut out and; angularly'" formed as an integral part of a flat, rectangular slide-member l5, the=latter of which is-movably" confined. against 1 the rear surface of plate l0 Thisdimension for square-tile may-- by means of a channeled guide piece affixed to the back of the plate. Member l5 with tongue M is permitted a prescribed amount of vertical travel parallel to the plane of plate H], Within limits defined by the extremes of position of tongue [4 within the rectangular clearance aperture [1 in plate ll], so that tongue [4 may thus be positioned to accommodate a particular tile Width B. Some clearance is also provided between the sides of member I5 and the channel of piece It so that tongue M may be aligned with the tile edge. I prefer to fabricate member 55 from a smooth piece of stainless steel approximately /54" thick and somewhat wider than tongue l4 so that when the tongue [4 is cut and formed therefrom, the bifurcated legs !5 extending downwardly beyond the extremity of the tongue serve to add to the stability of the assembly. Tongue I4 projects up beyond the top surface of plate It] to adequately contact the edge of tile, but insufficient to extend beyond the tile, thereby avoiding interference with the wall to which tile is applied.

Again referring to Figures 1 and 2, below the first horizontal run of tile i a second run, a third run and a fourth run with corresponding floating tongues 14 interposed between each vertically arranged pair of tiles. Under the last run of tile is a horizontal clamping bar carrying a somewhat resilient strip 2! which engages the lowermost edges of tile pieces, to become biased upwardly and exert a clamping effect there-against, as will be more fully shown later. Abutment strip 2| may be of any suitable plastic material in order that it will deform slightly when clamping pressure is exerted to compact the tiles vertically without chipping or marring the tile structure.

Tongues l4, being extremely thin, are insufiicient to affect appreciably the vertical tile spacing. They do, nevertheless, compensate for any irregularity in the sides of the tile which may be present either in smoothness or angularity and, being restrained against movement vertical to the plane of plate I2, they serve as an intermediate support during tile clamping to preclude bulging or pulling away of the tile from the plate. Once clamped, the entire assembly of tile pieces will be quite stable and may be readily handled without disturbing the positioning of the tile.

Details of the clamping mechanism are shown in Figures 5, 6, and 7 wherein it will be noted that clamping bar 28 of channel section carrying the resilient abutment piece is fixed to a series of three spaced carrier members 22, see also Figure l, slidably confined in carrier guides 23 secured to plate l2. As in the construction of the flange !2 and tongues Hi, it is important that clamp 2i) and its associated parts do not over-extend the back surface of tile whereby interference with the wall would be evident during use. Tension springs 26, interposed between the spring posts 25 on the plate l2 and on the end of each carrier, tend to hold the clamp in its outermost position. Clamping is eifected by the manipulation of handle 26 fixed to hollow shaft 2? trunnioned in a series of three bearings 28 spaced on plate l2. When handle 26 is pulled upwardly from the back of plate 52, counteragainst the effect of springs 24 to clamp the tiles in position. As handle 26 is manipulated in the direction of clamping, the spring biased pawl 32, see Figure '7, pivoted on the handle 26 will engage successive teeth of ratchet 33 fastened to center bearing 28 to lock the handle against reverse movement until it is released by pressure applied to the overhanging end 34 of pawl 32. When de-clamped, the tile pieces will be free for transfer to the prepared wall.

The apparatus of my invention finds its greatest utility for setting tile in large areas, the smaller areas and irregular portions of a tiled surface being necessarily fitted with single pieces.

-. When using the apparatus for setting tile in regclockwise in Figure 6, shaft 2'5 will be turned and flat springs 30 will become wrapped about the collars 3i to which they are secured, thus drawing the carrier members 22 with clamping bar 20 inwardly by interconnection therewith ular block form against a prepared wall, and with the clamp fully released, the tile setter or his helper first loads the fixture in the manner hereinbefore described, taking the necessary precautions to insure precise alignment of successive runs of tile. Advantageously, the fixture will be sloped during loading with plate I0 disposed at an angle with the horizontal so that the tile pieces will tend to slide toward the thin flange l2. Care is also taken to position the tile pieces in each lateral run so that, insofar as is possible, the ends will be square and accurate and so that the vertical runs overlie the fixture to some extent. Clamping pressure is then applied and the fixture with tile is transported to the prepared surface to be fitted in place.

In manipulating the assembly to the wall, the fixture is oriented from the position of the drawing, the clamping handle 26 being preferably at one side and, auxiliary handle 35 is at the other side, with flange l2 positioned vertically at a starting surface or a vertical row of previously set tile and one of the overlying tile runs resting against a starting base or a horizontal tile run. The tile setter may work from left to right or from right to left, and when properly positioned, the back faces of the tile are pressed into intimate engagement with the prepared wall. The clamping pressure is then released, the tile remaining in position by the normal suction of cement or other adhering substance against the back of the tile, whereafter the fixture may be drawn away for re-loading, care being taken so that the flange l2 and tongues I l slide out from between tile joints without disturbing the setting. By working with several fixtures which may be kept continuously loaded by a helper, the tile setter may cover large areas in shorter time than has heretofore been possible when working with individual tile pieces.

It is to be understood that the apparatus herein described is a preferred embodiment of my invention and that various changes may be made in' the shape and size and arrangement of parts without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention 1 claim:

1. In a device for securing an assemblage of tile blocks in position, in combination, a fiat supporting surface member, an abutment at one edge of said member, a movable clamp at an opposite edge of said member, holding means intermediate of said abutment and said movable clamp adapted to be slidably engaged between two tile surfaces, said intermediate holding means being adjustably positionable in a direction parallel to the plane of the supporting surface member, but confined vertically with respect thereto, means to urge said clamp to clamping position, and means to lock said clamp in clamping position.

2. In a device for securing an assemblage of tile blocks in position, in combination, a flat supporting surface member, an abutment at one edge of said member, a movable clamp at an opposite edge of said member, holding means intermediate of said abutment and said movable clamp adapted to be slidably engaged between two tile surfaces, said intermediate holding means being adjustably positionable a :direction parallel with respect to the plane of the supporting surface member, but confined vertically with respect B thereto, means to urge said clamp into clamping position, means to lock said clamp in position, and means carried by said clamp urging means to release the pressure applied by said clamp.

PHILIP SCHNEIDER.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Bryden Nov. 26, 1872 Number 

